Liverpool vs Watford player ratings
GK: Alisson – 8
Big saves from Ismaila Sarr and Gerard Deulofeu proved vital for the home side.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6
Given a thorough defensive examination by Deulofeu but showed his range of passing with some raking balls in the first half.
CB: Joe Gomez – 6
Battled away against Troy Deeney and showed good strength to combat the Watford skipper.
Didn’t look comfortable in possession but grew into the game and was impressive in the scrappy closing moments.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 5
Couple of important clearances and survived a penalty shout when he was left scrambling after Sarr.
Then involved in a horrible mix-up with Alisson but was relieved to see his pass trickle past the post.
LB: James Milner – 5
Allowed Andrew Robertson a rest but doesn’t offer anything like the dynamism or attacking threat of the Scot at left-back.
More comfortable shifting into midfield after Georginio Wijnaldum’s injury.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 5
Shooting let him down on several occasions and his passing was laboured at times.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 5
Scampered around trying to impose some order on a scrappy match before he limped off with a knee problem.
RAM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 7
Quiet but used the ball when when he got it, protecting possession and linking up with his team-mates.
Helped out Alexander-Arnold defensively and can be pleased with his contribution.
CAM: Roberto Firmino – 5
Uncharacteristic poor control squandered three clear chances, including when he was one-on-one with Ben Foster.
His pass did find Mane in the build-up to the opener.
LAM: Sadio Mane – 7
Challenged the Watford rearguard with direct running, and was a ready outball for the Reds on the left flank.
Great pass found Salah for the first and had a header disallowed for marginal offside call.
ST: Mohamed Salah – 8
Curled one effort past the post but found his radar with a brilliant run and finish to get Liverpool off the mark.
Missed several other chances but looked a real threat and showed great strength to unsettle the Watford back line before flicking in Origi's miss-kick.
SUB: Andrew Robertson (on for Wijnaldum, 59 mins) – 6
Immediately caused problems down the left and created several chances with his dangerous deliveries.
SUB: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (on for Shaqiri, 69 mins) – 6
Lovely pass set Mane away for the second.
SUB: Divock Origi (on for Firmino, 87 mins) – 5
Horrible miss-kick allowed Salah to score.
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